ivory nut
NounOpen English WordNet
Noun (1)
- nutlike seed of a South American palm; the hard white shell takes a high polish and is used for e.g. buttonsSynonyms: vegetable ivoryapple nutType of seedPart of ivory palm, ivory-nut palm
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Ivory nut
Botany, the nut of a species of palm, the Phytephas macroarpa, often as large as a hen's egg. When young the seed contains a fluid, which gradually hardness into a whitish, close-grained, albuminous substance, resembling the finest ivory in texture and color, whence it is called vegetable ivory. It is wrought into various articles, as buttons, chessmen, etc. The palm is found in New Grenada. A smaller kind is the fruit of the Phytephas microarpa. The nuts are known in commerce as Corosso nuts.
From the entry Ivory.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54